most likely he's going to pass and be secretary of defense, so why hold him up over a recess when the pentagon desperately needs somebody at the helm? >> because in a funny sort of way, joe, it's exactly what mccain said. it's a way of getting their pound of flesh. >> julian, pound of flesh. is that really what this is all about? given that our troops deserve a leader because they serve with every ounce of their bodies, they give their bodies. >> well, i don't know that they will get a pound of flesh and it is a rizable reason. politics is about picking good fights. this is a fight the republicans will lose and it's a bad fight and you wonder why after what's happened to the republican party they continue to pick bad fights they're going to lose. they're going to lose, one, because there's pressing security issues. two, because there's no precedent for holding up a secretary of defense. and, three, you ask about mccain's principles here. mccain has uttered four different conflicting positions since february 4th about whether, in fact, he would filibuster the hagel nomination. it's i am possibm